There’s a strangely underwhelming hype surrounding a game between two giants of English football.
Take, for instance, what it means today. A win for Arsenal over Liverpool at Anfield will see Wenger’s men move to sixth in the league (unless they can win by six or more goals and push up as high as fifth).
A win for Liverpool? That could take Brendan Rodgers’ side to ninth (depending on Newcastle’s result).
A fight for the top six. A fight for the top half. There was a time when this fixture meant something, when it mattered and, even though there will be plenty of eyes fixed on Merseyside again today, a result is nothing more than a week’s relief for a pair of bosses under considerably more pressure than they might have been in recent seasons.
Here’s a look back over some memorable clashes between Liverpool and Arsenal over the years.
1989: Liverpool 0 Arsenal 2
The championship decider. Michael Thomas. Arsenal head to Anfield needing to win by two to take the title from beneath Liverpool’s noses. Kenny Dalglish’s men hang on, they hang, they hang on. They encourage each other, “one more minute”. Michael Thomas has different ideas and wins the championship with an epic last-minute piece of drama.
1994: Liverpool 3 Arsenal 0
Robbie Fowler, Aged 19. Bang, bang, bang. Gone in four and a half minutes. The Liverpool legend’s hat-trick, the quickest in Premier League history, put Arsenal to the sword in rampant fashion with a whirlwind first half – or at least 4 minutes and 32 seconds of the half. That’s all they needed. Poor David Seaman never stood a chance.
2001: Liverpool 2 Arsenal 1
FA Cup final, 1-0 down, seven minutes on the clock. Game over? Not on your nelly. What Michael Owen had planned for the closing stages of the dramatic Millennium Stadium showpiece will forever be remembered in Liverpool folklore as he struck twice late on to drag Gerard Houllier’s men from behind to priceless victory en route a remarkable treble for Liverpool.
2009: Liverpool 4 Arsenal 4
0-1, 1-1, 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, 3-3, 3-4, 4-4. What a game! On a day Andrey Arshavin rattled four goals for Arsenal, some Rafa Benitez legends were at hand to darken the Russian’s limelight with the like of Dirk Kuyt, Fernando Torres, and Yossi Benayoun all netting as Liverpool came from behind, lost the lead, and came from behind again to share eight goals with the Gunners.
2014: Liverpool 5 Arsenal 1
Arsenal rode into Anfield as league leaders. They were kicked back out with their tails between their legs. As Brendan Rodgers masterminded the Londoners’ biggest blow to their title challenge last season, Liverpool came of age as they asserted themselves as the real deal and launched a remarkable closing period to the Premier League run-in, taking Manchester City all the way. It took Martin Skrtel all of 51 seconds to give the Gunners short shrift. Fortunately for us, a lot of the classics take place on Merseyside. Bring on another!
